Rock Music
Bartees Strange Makes TV Debut Performing “Boomer” on Seth Meyers: Watch
In 2020 Bartees Strange caught lightning in a bottle, going from little name recognition to rising star on the strength of one of the best albums of the year, Live Forever. Now he’s made his national TV debut, performing his tour-de-force track “Boomer” on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Catch the replay below. “Boomer” isn’t just one of the strongest cuts on a killer album, it’s also a chance for the multi-talented Strange to dig deep into his bag of tricks. Rhythmically and lyrically, the verses are influenced by hip-hop, while the pre-chorus and hook showcase his scorching vocals and elevate “Boomer” into a soaring rock and roll anthem. Earlier this week, Strange shared a rocking cover of Judee Sill’s “The Pearl” which will appear on an upcoming tribute album from producer Lorenzo Wol...
Sheer Mag Share New Song “Crushed Velvet”: Stream
Sheer Mag have shared “Crushed Velvet”, their first new music since 2019’s A Distant Call. The Philadelphia rockers’ latest singles comes from the soundtrack to Hulu’s new original film The Ultimate Playlist of Noise. Out now, the movie finds a teenager (Keean Johnson) traveling to New York City as he tries to experience as many unique sounds as possible before a tumor takes his hearing. That theme is perfect for Sheer Mag’s style, as “Crushed Velvet” trades on soaring guitar riffs, snarled vocals, and some growling background. It’s a smorgasbord of throwback rock sounds, and you can take a listen below. Editors’ Picks The Ultimate Playlist of Noise is streaming now on Hulu. You can sign up for free month of the streaming service here to watch the new movie now. Check out the trailer...
Rage Against the Machine Release Killing in Thy Name Documentary About Race: Watch
The socio-political events of the past five years have been a too-fitting backdrop for Rage Against The Machine’s music. The legendary rock group weren’t able to tour the country last year as planned, but today they’re giving their artistic response to the reignited racial justice movement with a new documentary called Killing in Thy Name. The project is a collaboration with a collective of international artists called The Ummah Chroma (which translates to “communities of color”), and it seeks to be “a fire escape from the fiction known as whiteness and a spring for discovery.” The bulk of the 15-minute endeavor features footage of a teacher and some schoolchildren learning about the west’s dark history of slavery, manifest destiny, and the very concept of “whiteness” within the conte...
Suspect208 (Weiland, Slash, Trujillo Sons) Already Looking for a New Singer
Suspect208 (clockwise from upper left: Noah Weiland, London Hudson, Tye Trujillo, Niko Tsangaris) The new band Suspect208, featuring the sons of famous rock stars, are already looking for a new singer, just a couple months after making a splash with their debut single. It appears that Noah Weiland, son of late Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, is no longer in the band. Suspect208, who also feature drummer London Hudson (son of Slash), bassist Tye Trujillo (son of Metallica’s Robert Trujillo), and guitarist Niki Tsangaris, arrived like a house on fire with their first single, the hard-rocking “Long Awaited”. A combination of curiosity and a strong musical debut propelled the track to nearly 1 million listens on YouTube. But now, after releasing another single, the poppier “All Black...
The Pretty Reckless Unveil New Song “And So It Went” Featuring Tom Morello: Stream
The Pretty Reckless’ Taylor Momsen (via Fearless Records), Tom Morello (photo by Philip Cosores) The Pretty Reckless have unleashed the latest single from their upcoming album, Death by Rock and Roll. The new track, “And So It Went”, features guest guitar playing from Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. Death by Rock and Roll arrives on February 12th, and has already been preceded by the title track and the recent single “25”. The new song, “And So It Went”, finds Taylor Momsen ascending to a raspy scream over a heavy guitar riff in the verses. Morello’s trademark playing really comes to the forefront at the 2:35 mark with a blistering solo. The track ends with a children’s choir singing along with Momsen on the chorus. “The world has been in such a state of civil unrest,” said M...
Duran Duran Share Cover of David Bowie’s “Five Years”: Stream
Duran Duran will mark what would have been David Bowie’s 74th birthday by joining the star-studded tribute livestream “A Bowie Celebration: Just for One Day”. In anticipation, the new wave legends have shared a new cover of Bowie’s 1972 classic “Five Years”. “Five Years” wasn’t chosen at random. As the opening track to Bowie’s iconic album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it provided a formative moment for DD frontman Simon Le Bon. In a statement, he called it “our first taste of its perfection,” explaining, “My life as a teenager was all about David Bowie. He is the reason why I started writing songs. Part of me still can’t believe in his death five years ago, but maybe that’s because there’s a part of me where he’s still alive and always will be. When we got...
Nandi Bushell Goes Britpop with Cover of Blur’s “Song 2”: Watch
Nandi Bushell, the self-declared “total metalhead” and vanquisher of Dave Grohl, has opened 2021 by expanding her rock horizons. The musical prodigy has started exploring the ’90s Britpop era, leading her to deliver a new cover of Blur’s classic “Song 2”. “This week I have been learning about #Britpop, the 90’s and about this awesome battle between 2 bands called @blurofficial and @oasis,” Bushell wrote in the YouTube video’s description. “The 90 seemed like a fun time for music. This is Song 2 by Blur its really fun to jam to! Wahoo!!! Loving this song.” Wearing a self-made Union Jack dress and a custom guitar strap from LK Straps, the young virtuoso jammed out the iconic riff while backing herself up on… well, on everything, because she’s incredible. She even layers her vocals four times...
Chino Moreno’s ✞✞✞ (Crosses) Cover “The Beginning of the End”, First New Track in Six Years: Stream
Deftones singer Chino Moreno has resurrected ✞✞✞ (Crosses) and released the first new track from the project in six years. It comes in the form of a cover of Cause & Effect’s “The Beginning of the End”. Crosses unleashed their self-titled debut album in 2014, but hasn’t released any new music or performed any shows since that year. The band’s lineup is comprised of Moreno, guitarist Shaun Lopez, and bassist Chuck Doom, although a press release for the new single only mentions Moreno and Lopez. For Crosses’ return, Moreno turned to a song by fellow Sacramento act Cause & Effect, an electropop band who released their self-titled debut album in 1990. “The Beginning of the End” is a track from that first LP, and it gives off some very strong Depeche Mode vibes. Crosses’ version do...
Iggy Pop Releases COVID-19 Rocker “Dirty Little Virus”: Stream
I’m happy to report that not all 70-plus white male classic rockers are COVID-19 deniers. Iggy Pop is back with a new song inspired by the novel coronavirus, and unlike Eric Clapton and Van Morrison’s recent anti-lockdown collaboration, Pop’s “Dirty Little Virus” accurately reflects the severity of the pandemic — even if the lyrics are, times, quite painful. “COVID-19 is on the scene,” Pop sings to open the song. “Grandfather’s dead. Got Trump instead.” Later he croons, “She’s only 19, but she can kill ya. She ain’t my type, but it is what it is.” In a video accompanying the song’s release, Pop explained that he was “moved to write a direct lyric, not something too emotional or deep, more like journalism. Who, what, where, where… I left out the why, because that gets too complex. But...
Foo Fighters and Billie Eilish to Headline Virtual ALTer EGO Festival
Billie Eilish and Foo Fighters are set to headline iHeartRadio’s virtual ALTer EGO festival in early 2021. Taking place on January 28th, the event also promises archival performances from Beck, The Black Keys, The Killers, Coldplay, MUSE, Blink-182, Cage the Elephant, and Mumford and Sons. ALTer EGO 2021 will livestream for free on LiveXLive.com and on the LiveXLive mobile and OTT apps for iOS, Android, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV, and broadcast live across more than 80 alternative and rock iHeartRadio stations on January 28th starting at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT. The virtual festival goes down just a week prior to the release of Foo Fighters’ new album, Medicine at Midnight, which drops on February 5th. Though they’ve been unable to tour in support of the album’s impending release, they have ...
Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover The Velvet Underground’s “Rock and Roll”: Watch
It’s the eighth and final night of Hanukkah, and Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin are going out with a bang. The Foo Fighters frontman and Grammy-winning producer have celebrated the holiday by covering a song by a different Jewish artist each night, and for their final act they’ve busted out a rendition of The Velvet Underground’s “Rock and Roll”. “As 2020 comes to a close and another Hanukkah ends (my first!) I am reminded of the two things that have gotten me through this year: music and hope,” wrote Grohl in a note posted to Foo Fighters’ Twitter account. “The project, which initially began as a silly idea, grew to represent something much more important to me,” Grohl added. “It showed that the simple gesture of spreading joy and happiness goes a long way, and as a we look forward...
Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover The Knack’s “Frustrated”: Watch
It’s night seven of Hanukkah, and Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin are still going strong with their covers song series. Over eight crazy nights, the Foo Fighters frontman and Grammy-winning producer are tackling a different song by a prominent Jewish musician. For entry number seven, they’re tackling The Knack’s “Frustrated”. “Tonight we’re featuring 4 nice Jewish boys whose biggest hit was a song about a nice Jewish girl… ‘My Shalom-a’ or something like that,” Grohl and Kurstin wrote in a tweet posted to Foo Fighters’ Twitter. “We’re huge fans of New Wave (as well as the ‘old wave’ that came after Moses parted the Red Sea) so we are psyched to present…The Knack! Previously, the duo paid tribute to Jewish greats like the Beastie Boys (“Sabotage”), Drake (“Hotline Bling”), Mountain (“Missi...
